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Ramadan Mubarak and L’Shana Tov [updated]

For us, Nizari Ismailis, the night of October 4, 2005, was the first night of Ramadan. This holy month for Muslims coincides with Rosh Hoshana. Over at City of Brass, he’s talking about something called the Tent of Abraham. Sounds interesting. Check it out. Also, the Bohras (official website), or Mustalian Ismailis, like the Nizari Ismailis, do not rely on moon sighting, but on astronomical calculation. I was always under the impression that we shared our calculated calendar from the Fatimid period, but since they started a day earlier, there must a divergence somewhen. Anybody know when and/or why? Update:…

Jews in unexpected places

Jonathan has a post. Read it. Jewish minority population; Muslim majority country. Not all hugs-and-kisses, but not all blow-things-up either.

Newsday on America to Zanzibar

Here is a Newsday article on the exhibit America to Zanzibar: Muslim Cultures Near and Far, at The Children’s Museum of Manhattan, for which I was the lead academic advisor. It’s a good chance to shout out my friends from high school. “Our goal is to have children deal with differences in a healthy, positive way and encourage them to be inquisitive while exploring the world instead of running away from its differences,” Rashid said, an experience not so different from his years growing up in Elmont.